Did you mean scott man speaker:Scott Mann?
Scott Mann: ...“six-pack”. It was not always that way. Up until the reforms of 1832, Cornwall returned 44 Members of Parliament, as opposed to 45 for the whole of Scotland. With the greatest of respect to my Scottish colleagues, it would have been nice to refer to the 44-pack, rather than the six-pack. What we lose in number, however, we more than make up for in our desire to put Cornwall firmly on...
Scott Mann: I welcome the fact that 217,000 affordable new homes were delivered during the last Parliament. Will my right hon. Friend outline how he will go further, particularly in delivering affordable new houses to my area of North Cornwall?
Scott Mann: May I draw attention to my entry in the Register of Members’ Financial Interests? I am a former Royal Mail employee, and a small shareholder. How does my hon. Friend think posties up and down our great country will have responded today to the announcement of a 1% gift in shares, and the announcement of the continuation of our universal service obligation?
Scott Mann: Yesterday, I learned that two of my constituents had suffered in this callous attack. Cheryl Mellor and her husband, Stephen, from Bodmin in North Cornwall, went to Tunisia for a holiday, but only Mrs Mellor will be returning. I was moved to tears after reading her account of Friday’s tragic events in the local press. Stephen was gunned down next to his wife, trying to protect her as they...
Scott Mann: Is my right hon. Friend aware that the cost of delivering services in rural areas is much higher than in urban areas, and in pupil funding there is a huge disparity, with many rural schools getting significantly less than urban schools—half as much in some instances? That is not good enough for our rural schools.
Scott Mann: With the Ashes series beginning and the sun out, many of our local cricket clubs in Cornwall are once again opening their doors for the summer season. Does my right hon. Friend agree that we need to make it easier for sports clubs to access grant funding and planning consent to improve facilities for our young cricketers in Cornwall to give them the opportunity to one day pull on the three...
Scott Mann: What capability upgrades are planned for Typhoon jets.
Scott Mann: I thank my hon. Friend for his response and I am sure he and the whole House will join me in welcoming the Chancellor’s announcement that this Government are committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence. How will this improve our air force capabilities?
Scott Mann: May I welcome the recent announcement in the Budget that this Government are pledging an extra £8 billion for the NHS in England? Launceston medical centre in my constituency of North Cornwall has been waiting two years for the green light for its expansion. Can my right hon. Friend provide me with an update regarding the progress of its bid?
Scott Mann: I thank my right hon. Friend for giving way. Many businesses are looking to relocate to rural areas, which presents us with a big problem. Those businesses do not want to be confined to industrial estates; many looking to relocate to my constituency of North Cornwall are food based and want to have access to broadband on farms. What can be done about that?
Scott Mann: What steps his Department is taking to help apprentices with the cost of travelling to work in rural areas.
Scott Mann: It has been brought to my attention that many young apprentices struggle with their first car insurance premium. Will the Secretary of State consider bringing in special insurance premiums for apprenticeships?
Scott Mann: The hon. Gentleman should be aware of the recent Cornwall deal, which deals with the very heart of the rural communities; it is not all about the big cities. The Prime Minister himself delivered that deal to the very rural area of Cornwall.
Scott Mann: On 16 July this year, an historic devolution deal for Cornwall was signed off by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government and the heads of Kernow clinical commissioning group, Cornwall Council and the local enterprise partnership for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. As the first rural authority to be granted devolution, Cornwall has been given the...
Scott Mann: That was not the case, no. The powers were devolved to Cornwall Council, to the local enterprise partnership and to the business community. I welcome the prospect of every local authority in the UK having the same powers that Cornwall now has. Local MPs, local councils and local business leaders will of course know what is best for their areas. It is my hope that this deal will empower local...
Scott Mann: It is my view that there are no problems with the Bill. I championed it last week because I believed the Government were right to give more powers to councils, which can better address the issues in their areas. Cornwall does not have an elected mayor, but it does have a rather unique sense of identity and a desire to get its traditional low-wage economy functioning as a high-wage, high-skill...
Scott Mann: My hon. Friend will be familiar with the London challenge, which ran in the capital until 2011. As an MP for a very rural area, may I ask the Secretary of State to look at introducing a rural challenge to help support areas in North Cornwall?
Scott Mann: I have been contacted by the Federation of Small Businesses, which has highlighted the concerns of many hoteliers, retailers and businesses that are affected by the six-week period. Has my hon. Friend been contacted by the FSB?
Scott Mann: I welcome you to the Chair, Mr McCabe, and I thank my Cornish colleague, my hon. Friend the Member for St Austell and Newquay (Steve Double), for spearheading this debate. He has been instrumental in making the public aware of today’s debate and the general debate in wider circles about allowing children to be taken out of school to go on holiday. As an MP for a key tourist destination, I...
Scott Mann: I would be flexible on that. We simply need to give parents the ability to take their children out of school at some time during those years. I am not a wealthy man. I cannot afford to take my child away on holiday year after year. If we can give people the ability to save up for holidays and have a week or a couple of weeks in the sun, they will benefit from that. If a child has been out of...